Page 118 of Hunt Me

“Then are you suggesting you’re being framed?”

“I’m suggesting you should be more concerned about blood raining in the streets.”

He cocked his head, darting his eyes back and forth. “Trouble in paradise?”

“Let’s just say an old enemy hungry for revenge. Does the name Tristen O’Shaughnessy ring a bell?”

He rubbed his jaw. “Yeah. Leader of the most powerful Irish crime syndicate west of the Rockies.”

“Well, his son Connor is determined to invade our territory. I can’t allow that to happen.”

“I thought you were completely legitimate now, Mikhail.”

I laughed. “The difference between my family and his is our legitimacy. He’s steeped in illegal drug and weapons trafficking. Once he gets his claws into casinos, there will be no way of controlling illegal gambling.”

Jack nodded. “I’ll do what I can to keep the heat off you for as long as possible, but at some point, I won’t be able to help. Andtrust me. If any evidence is found that you killed Jax Shane, there will be nothing I can do.”

No number of threats was going to change the reality of what I was facing. “Destroy the tape, Jack. That’s all I need.”

“She must be pretty special to risk losing everything you own and your freedom for her.”

I would ordinarily be pissed as shit at his disrespectful comment, but not today. “She is.”

“I’ll do what I can, but there are no promises.”

After he left, I stood by my office window for a full ten minutes. And the entire time I was thinking of her. A laugh finally rumbled from my throat. For the first time in my life, I’d found something personal I wanted to keep in my life and instead of being able to enjoy the spoils of war, I was embroiled in one.

I had no doubt evidence would be found on Jax’s body or at the murder scene. I’d let my guard down, becoming the prey.

That ended now.

As I pulled my phone into my hand, I allowed my thoughts to drift to Bristol one more time. There was only one word that was appropriate.

Mine.

“I was about to call you, Mikhail.” Alessandro’s voice was gritty.

“What did you discover?”

“Sergio was indeed adept at security. The moment the files were attacked, they disintegrated.”

“Interesting.”

“What’s interesting is that he only installed the ability a few days before his death. He had a premonition something was about to happen.”

“I’m curious. Is there any way to trace the IP address?”

“Only if they’ve left the back door open, which I haven’t checked yet. Whoever handled the hack for the enemy also knew what they were doing.”

“Is there a way of infecting their computer system if they tried to obtain new information?”

“Yes, but the files are all corrupt.”

“Not if there’s a new one.”

Alessandro laughed. “A lure. Clever. No wonder you’re Pakhan. I’ll take care of it.”

“Good. Let me know what happens.”